During the operation of a commercial vehicle, data are produced which are made available to a driver in his driver's cab on display instruments or other output devices. For example, the driver of a truck with pneumatic suspension and an electronic braking system receives not only data relating to the vehicle speed and engine speed, but also information relating to the system pressure (pressure in the braking system), the axle load (via bellows pressure sensors), the distance to rearward obstacles (via proximity sensors), etc. The data are transferred in part directly to the display instruments in the driver's cab, and in part via an on-board data bus system, such as a CAN bus system.
In a road train, consisting of a plurality of vehicle units, i.e. a traction unit and one or more trailer vehicles, data of the trailer vehicles can be forwarded via standardized interfaces to the traction vehicle, e.g. via the CAN bus system, a powerline adapter or otherwise. This requires a corresponding technical equipment of the traction unit and the trailer vehicles. The data are typically collected in an electronic control unit and are made available to the data bus system. The control unit must have a corresponding interface for the data bus system. The CAN data bus system, widespread throughout Europe, only allows the forwarding of specified data. Special data which are produced only in a specific vehicle type and are not yet specified for the CAN data bus are not transmitted and are therefore not readable for the driver in his driver's cab. An additional communication path between the driver and the relevant vehicle units is required.
Commercial vehicles are often intended to perform actions and/or to make information available to the driver or a different operating person even after they have been switched off. The operating person is typically located outside the vehicle. A communication facility is appropriate here without the operating person having to be located in the driver's cab for this purpose.
Mobile communication devices such as Smartphones, tablet PCs and other mini-computers with the capability to establish and use a wireless connection for communication, for example WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) also, are now widespread. With a corresponding technical equipment of the vehicle, the operating person could establish a connection to the vehicle with the Smartphone and obtain information or perform functions in the vehicle. A wireless connection must be established in advance between the Smartphone and the vehicle, wherein it should be ensured that only authorized operating persons can establish a connection. If functions of the vehicle are to be performed, it is appropriate if only one operating person has access to the vehicle. Conflicting function calls may otherwise be made.
It is generally known to connect a Smartphone to a communication unit of a vehicle via WLAN. To establish and authenticate the WLAN connection, the data required for this purpose (network name, network key, password) are transmitted via a USB cable, NFC or as a QR code from the communication unit of the vehicle to the Smartphone. The operating person no longer has to type the data into the Smartphone. The abbreviations used above (WLAN, USB, NFC, QR code, Bluetooth) and others are understood in the art.